OTTAWA, June 12 (Reuters) – Four independent experts
endorsed on Thursday the Canadian military’s evaluation of
options to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets, setting the
stage for the government to decide whether or not to go ahead
with previous plans to buy F-35 Joint Strike Fighters.

Ottawa scrapped its plan to buy 65 Lockheed Martin Corp
F-35s in 2012, after an official watchdog said officials
had grossly downplayed the cost of maintaining and operating the
jets.

TORONTO, June 10 (Reuters) – Two days before election day in
the Canadian province of Ontario and polls show a dead heat
between a left-leaning Liberal government that many feel has
overstayed its welcome and an austerity-minded Conservative
opposition that has failed to capture the imagination of voters.

Voters will decide on Thursday whether to return Premier
Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals to power in Canada’s most populous
province or hand the reins to Tim Hudak’s Conservatives. The
polls show they are finding it a grim choice.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Three police officers were shot dead in the Canadian city of Moncton and two more were wounded as they conducted a manhunt for a man carrying a rifle and wearing camouflage clothes, Canadian police said on Wednesday

Police said they were searching for Justin Bourque, 24, and urged residents to stay inside and locked their doors.

TORONTO, May 29 (Reuters) – Quarterly profit at Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce fell by nearly two-thirds due
to a charge taken by its Caribbean unit, the bank said on
Thursday, but the result topped analysts’ estimates and CIBC’s
chief executive signaled a willingness to pay more for
acquisitions.

CEO Gerry McCaughey has targeted wealth management as a
business he’d like to expand, and said last year he’d entertain
deals in the billion-dollar range.

TORONTO (Reuters) – Bank of Nova Scotia said on Tuesday its second-quarter profit rose 14 percent, beating estimates, and the lender’s CEO suggested its strong capital levels will be directed toward acquisitions rather than large share buybacks.

The bank’s stock surged to an all-time high on the results.

Brian Porter, who has emphasized organic growth since taking over as chief executive officer last year, said the bank was eyeing expansion in credit cards, as well as wealth management and retail banking growth in Peru, Colombia, Mexico and Chile.

TORONTO, May 22 (Reuters) – Royal Bank of Canada and
Toronto-Dominion Bank topped second-quarter estimates on
the back of low loan-loss provisions and stronger retail lending
and wealth management income, spurring shares of Canada’s top
two banks to all-time highs on Thursday.

Profit at RBC and TD’s core domestic retail banks rose 7
percent and 13 percent, respectively, in spite of slowing growth
in mortgage lending over the past few years.

Canada’s second-largest bank said it had earned C$1.99 billion ($1.82 billion), or C$1.04 a share, in the second quarter ended April 30, compared with C$1.72 billion, or 89 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.

TORONTO, May 14 (Reuters) – Bank of Nova Scotia
said on Wednesday it will explore options to divest itself of
some or all of its 37 percent stake in asset manager CI
Financial and redeploy the capital elsewhere.

The bank, which acquired the CI stake from insurer Sun Life
Financial Inc in late 2008, said in a statement it
would pursue any divestitures “in one, or a series of
transactions.”

TORONTO, April 24 (Reuters) – Canadian Imperial Bank of
Commerce said on Thursday that Chief Executive Officer
Gerry McCaughey will retire in two years, the latest in a series
of leadership changes at Canada’s top lenders.

Toronto-based CIBC, Canada’s fifth-largest bank, said
McCaughey, 57, will step down on April 30, 2016. The bank did
not name a replacement, and said the actual date of McCaughey’s
retirement could change upon the completion of a succession plan
that is currently under way.

TORONTO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former U.S. professional boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, who spent 19 years in prison for murder and then was released after it was determined he did not get a fair trial, died on Sunday at the age of 76, according to reports in the Canadian media.

Carter, considered a folk hero by many and immortalized in film and song, had been battling prostate cancer for months, according to reports by the Toronto Globe and Mail and the CBC. He died in Toronto, where he had been living since he was released from prison in 1985, according to the reports.